Pace pays, it sure does!

England face a couple of tough Test challenges this home summer First up is a tilt against New Zealand the No 2 ranked side followed by five matches against the top team IndiaDespite the enormous challenge these two opponents present the impending Ashes series in Australia is generating much discussion from the England campTherersquos no doubt England are a good sidemdashthey are currently ranked threemdashbut do they have the right combination to win in AustraliaIn preparing a blueprint for success on the bouncier Australian pitches England only have to look at Indiarsquos last two successful tours to find a common denominatormdashpenetrative pace bowlingPerfect pastIf England require further confirmation of how best to achieve success perusing their own teamrsquos past history should suffice There are three England series in Australia that stand out The Bodyline tour of 193233 the successful 195455 encounter and the 197071 victoryThose three victorious tours all featured great England fast bowling and some imaginative captaincyIn 193233 Englandrsquos enforcer was the Notts Express Harold Larwood He took 33 wickets at 1952 and ably assisted by Bill Voce and Gubby Allen they curtailed Don Bradmanrsquos rampant runscoringDouglas Jardinersquos tactics in employing a packed onside field created controversy but he was a shrewd and ruthless skipper He acknowledged the need for good fast bowling and the necessity to curb Bradmanrsquos effectiveness The series result was confirmation of his tactics even if their application did nearly split the EmpireIn 195455 Frank Typhoon Tyson was the enforcer and he was the difference in the series Tyson took 28 wickets at 2082 and had capable allies in Brian Statham and Trevor Bailey England were successfully led by the obdurate Yorkshireman Len Hutton who slowed the overrate in order to play on the patience of the Australian batsmen and give Tyson a breather before unleashing another onslaughtIn 197071 John Snow made the difference with 31 wickets at 2284 Snowrsquos backup was centred around Peter Lever and Bob Willis However canny Yorkshireman Ray Illingworth shrewdly employed the economical spin bowling of Deadly Derek Underwood as well as himself to control proceedings until Snow was ready for another accurate spell of pace bowlingTherersquos a pattern to those successful campaigns that should give England cause for optimism good fast bowling and two Yorkshire captainsIn Jofra Archer Mark Wood and Ollie Stone England possess a strong pace trio if they are fit Jimmy Anderson will be invaluable in the daynight Test and also provide testing spells on other occasions Stuart Broad is insurance in case of injury or fatigue and the dual skills of allrounder Ben Stokes means England have selectionflexibility England will carry a large squad to cope with bubble requirements so other pace options will be availableIndiarsquos last tour of Australia showed the immense value of having ample and capable backup pace bowlingToporder batting a concernEngland posses a potential serieswinning group of fast bowlers nevertheless itrsquos the toporder batting and Joe Rootrsquos captaincy that should be cause for concernThe opening combination of Dominic Sibley and Rory Burns is both ungainly and unconvincing Pat Cummins Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood should rejoice if both names appear in the top slots on the Gabba scoreboard Given the skill of Australiarsquos pace trio poor starts could be a death sentence for EnglandRootrsquos captaincy often lacks imagination and reason His tendency to have long discussions with senior players is reminiscent of Alastair Cook at his worst Therersquos a difference between a consultative captain and an uncertain one dithering is a bad look for a skipper There are times in Australia when a captain has to be imaginative in order to force the issue and this is not one of Rootrsquos strong pointsEngland definitely have the pace options to repeat the successes of 193233 195455 and 197071 However they wonrsquot win if the fast bowlers arenrsquot complemented by strong leadership and sufficient runsAlso ReadT20 World Cup set to be moved out of India ICC intimated internally